Director Nicole Yen-Yi Lee, briefing the participants about the two programs

On June 20, 2024 the Education Division at the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium held an orientation meeting for participants from European countries in the Taiwan Study Seminar or the Mandarin Training Program this summer who were soon going to Taiwan. The purpose of the meeting was to help them prepare thoroughly for the trip and meet other participants, and the attendees exchanged their contact details to establish connections for their trip.

More than a dozen participants from European countries were admitted to the Mandarin Training Program being held at Fu Jen Catholic University this August and more than 20 participants were admitted to the Taiwan Study Seminar being held at National Chengchi University. Many took part in the orientation meeting in person, some took part via video teleconferencing.

Both summer programs are sponsored by Taiwan’s Ministry of Education. The Taiwan Study Seminar began in 2007 and the Mandarin Training Program began the following year, and since then more than 300 people from Europe have participated in one or both. The Mandarin Training Program is designed to develop participants' Mandarin skills through in-person classes and extracurricular activities. There are also on-site visits to help broaden the participants’ knowledge of Taiwan’s society and its multifaceted culture. The Taiwan Study Seminar is designed to give participants a deeper understanding of Taiwan's political, economic, social, and educational developments, as well as current cross-strait relations. The seminar includes lectures, group discussions, field trips, and visits to a number of universities, government agencies, and private institutions, and also sightseeing and cultural activities.

The orientation meeting began with welcome remarks from Representative Roy Chun Lee, 李淳 from the Taipei Representative Office in the EU and Belgium. He congratulated the participants on being admitted to the programs and encouraged them to make good use of this opportunity to learn more about Taiwan and its history, geography and current policies. Two people who took part in the programs in Taiwan in 2023 then talked about their experiences in Taiwan and interacted with the people going to Taiwan this year.

After this, Dr. Nicole Yen-Yi Lee,李彥儀, the Director of the Education Division, and Education Division Secretary Ya-Ting Lin, 林雅婷 provided practical information about Taiwan and the trip, and representatives of the Taiwan Studies Center at National Chengchi University and of the Center of Chinese Language and Culture at Fu Jen Catholic University spoke to the participants about their centers and the programs online.